Litigation Lawyers in Charlestown

Depositions are part of the discovery procedure in Charlestown, Rhode Island civil litigation.

"Discovery" is a procedure that happens before a trial in Charlestown, Rhode Island. During the discovery process, both sides are obligated to make relevant information available to each other.

One of the most effective ways to receive information relevant to a lawsuit in Charlestown, Rhode Island is to conduct a deposition of a party who you believe to be privy to that information. A deposition is a Q&A session between an attorney representing one of the parties to a lawsuit, and someone who has knowledge relevant to the lawsuit. This can be one of the parties, or a witness. The individual being deposed is sworn in, and must answer all of the questions presented to them under oath. An attorney representing the other side can object to lines of questioning, on every grounds that would be valid during in-court testimony. The purpose of this is mainly to get the objection on the record, but if it proves to be a major sticking point, a judge can rule on the objections later. If any questions are found to be invalid, the questions, and their answers, will not be shown to the jury during trial. This is much more effective than simply instructing the jury to disregard a question and answer they've already heard.

Conducting A Civil Deposition in Charlestown, Rhode Island

Depositions in Charlestown, Rhode Island serve a very significant purpose: receiving testimony on the record, and admitted as evidence, when there is some reason to suspect that the witness won't be able to appear in court during trial, because of health, possible incarceration, or any other reason.

It should not be any shock, then, that civil depositions in Charlestown, Rhode Island can go on for a very long time. If you are contacted to appear in a deposition in Charlestown, Rhode Island, this can be a huge headache.

To help mitigate this inconvenience, Charlestown, Rhode Island permits witnesses who are appearing in depositions to be paid a set amount of money for their time, and reimbursed for travel expenses. However, if there is any evidence that this money is being used to influence a witness' testimony, there is going to be a significant problem: this would amount bribery, and it is a serious offense.

If you are called to a deposition in Charlestown, Rhode Island, it's absolutely imperative that you answer all the questions truthfully, to the best of your knowledge. When testifying in a deposition, you are under oath, just as you would be in open court. Deliberately lying in a deposition is perjury, which is a serious crime.

How Can A Charlestown, Rhode Island Lawyer Help?

If you are directly engaged in a lawsuit in Charlestown, Rhode Island, and have to appear at a deposition, you should already be represented by a lawyer. It goes without saying that you should do whatever they advise you to do throughout the deposition.

If you are not directly engaged in the lawsuit, you might still have to appear at a deposition, if you have information that's relevant to the case in Charlestown, Rhode Island. You likely don't need to hire a lawyer in that case, but it might be a good idea to at least get a consultation from one.